1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to magnetic heads that are utilized with thin film hard disk data storage devices, and more particularly to the design and fabrication of helical induction coils that are utilized in the write head components of such magnetic heads.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The ongoing efforts to develop magnetic heads having increased data writing rates are impacted by the design of the induction coils that are utilized to generate the magnetic flux of the write head. While the flat, spiral induction coils of prior art magnetic heads have been adequate, the overall length of the spiral induction coil element has a relatively high resistance and/or inductance which becomes problematic at high frequencies, as well as creating unwanted magnetic head heating due to the passage of current through the relatively high resistance coil element. Additionally, the footprint of the flat spiral coil is relatively large. This large footprint poses difficulties in placing elements close together to realize large scale integration.
To solve some of these problems, helical coils have been developed. Such coils are fabricated to wrap around the magnetic pole yoke. However, fine pitch helical coils are generally more difficult to fabricate than the prior art flat spiral coils. The present invention includes a magnetic head having a helical coil and a method for fabricating the helical coil that produces a finer pitch helical coil with fewer, simple fabrication steps than the prior art helical coils.